In which Amber makes a triumphant if illness-beset return
Hi all,
I return to you from the wilds of Europe that lies north of Italy. No pictures yet--I still have to post two rolls from *before* my trip. And I have to sort through the 600 pictures I took in those 10 fantastic days. Hopefully I will spend this weekend sleeping, homeworking, and getting up to date on both my digital and postcardly correspondence, which includes writing something coherent in this blog.
For now:
Last Friday night -last Sunday afternoon: Paris! Um, Paris is awesome. In 1.5 days of tourist time, John and I managed to see the Louvre (selected parts thereof, of course), the Arc du Triumphe, Notre Dame, the Church of Saint Denis, Oscar Wilde's grave (!!) ; and climb 2/5 of the Eiffel Tower and take an elevator the rest of the way (they only let you climb that far). And I ate French onion soup and quiche! All-day Paris metro student pass for only 3.30 Euro. Really good value, but I think I speak for both of us when I say we got really sick of the metro.
Last Sunday night- Wednesday morning: Scotland (really just Edinburgh). Also awesome. I got to go to John's Contemporary Russian Politics class, my first class in English since last May! And I saw Holyrood Palace, where the Queen stays when she's in town (and where Mary Queen of Scots used to live) and its ruined, roofless abbey. I got to go into the Scottish Parliament (now 10 years old), which sadly was not in session while I was in town. I went to Edinburgh Castle. I saw Adam Smith's grave. I had lots of tea and scones, which were delicious. And I had ethnic food! Falafel, and Thai food, and Indian food!
AND I SAW THE CAFE WHERE J.K. ROWLING WROTE THE FIRST TWO HARRY POTTERS. Which is no longer a cafe, but is now a Chinese restaurant, which is currently being renovated, so I couldn't go in. But I took a picture of it. It is right across the street from where John lives. So cool. Anyway, back to a semblance of normalcy...
Wednesday afternoon - Sunday morning: Ireland! Really expensive train from Dublin airport to Cork where Julia is studying this semester. And she made me huevos rancheros because she is awesome and I told her I missed Mexican food. In Ireland, it's called "Soured Cream." I kissed the Blarney Stone (in the pouring rain, and bashed my head on it too, as an added bonus)! And I got to go to Julia's Irish class (and got a free book out of the bargain), and two of her Mabinogi classes (medieval Welsh myths) which referenced the "Cauldron of Rebirth" (Any Chronicles of Prydain fans in the house?). Then to Galway, on the night before Halloween, to get accosted by little children (they ask strangers on the street for money in Ireland, instead of going house to house for candy. This can be awkward) and see people in cool costumes. Then to the Aran Islands on Saturday, the island of Inis Mor, specifically. These are a group of islands where the locals all speak Irish fluently (and English). We got to go around in some guy's horse-drawn cart. It didn't rain all day (soooo rare), and it was beautiful. And I bought purple wool fingerless gloves which somehow I am not allergic to and which are cool. Then back to Galway and we spent Halloween evening on a bus to Dublin--but the day was totally worth it. Airport early in the morning, and back to Siena only 15 minutes late for dinner.
And now I have to come to terms with the fact that I actually have work now! Alright, that ended up being way longer than I intended--I really need to go to bed and hope my cold magically disappears overnight.
A special thank you to Julia and John for letting me crash with them and feeding me and being generally awesome!
I return to you from the wilds of Europe that lies north of Italy. No pictures yet--I still have to post two rolls from *before* my trip. And I have to sort through the 600 pictures I took in those 10 fantastic days. Hopefully I will spend this weekend sleeping, homeworking, and getting up to date on both my digital and postcardly correspondence, which includes writing something coherent in this blog.
For now:
Last Friday night -last Sunday afternoon: Paris! Um, Paris is awesome. In 1.5 days of tourist time, John and I managed to see the Louvre (selected parts thereof, of course), the Arc du Triumphe, Notre Dame, the Church of Saint Denis, Oscar Wilde's grave (!!) ; and climb 2/5 of the Eiffel Tower and take an elevator the rest of the way (they only let you climb that far). And I ate French onion soup and quiche! All-day Paris metro student pass for only 3.30 Euro. Really good value, but I think I speak for both of us when I say we got really sick of the metro.
Last Sunday night- Wednesday morning: Scotland (really just Edinburgh). Also awesome. I got to go to John's Contemporary Russian Politics class, my first class in English since last May! And I saw Holyrood Palace, where the Queen stays when she's in town (and where Mary Queen of Scots used to live) and its ruined, roofless abbey. I got to go into the Scottish Parliament (now 10 years old), which sadly was not in session while I was in town. I went to Edinburgh Castle. I saw Adam Smith's grave. I had lots of tea and scones, which were delicious. And I had ethnic food! Falafel, and Thai food, and Indian food!
AND I SAW THE CAFE WHERE J.K. ROWLING WROTE THE FIRST TWO HARRY POTTERS. Which is no longer a cafe, but is now a Chinese restaurant, which is currently being renovated, so I couldn't go in. But I took a picture of it. It is right across the street from where John lives. So cool. Anyway, back to a semblance of normalcy...
Wednesday afternoon - Sunday morning: Ireland! Really expensive train from Dublin airport to Cork where Julia is studying this semester. And she made me huevos rancheros because she is awesome and I told her I missed Mexican food. In Ireland, it's called "Soured Cream." I kissed the Blarney Stone (in the pouring rain, and bashed my head on it too, as an added bonus)! And I got to go to Julia's Irish class (and got a free book out of the bargain), and two of her Mabinogi classes (medieval Welsh myths) which referenced the "Cauldron of Rebirth" (Any Chronicles of Prydain fans in the house?). Then to Galway, on the night before Halloween, to get accosted by little children (they ask strangers on the street for money in Ireland, instead of going house to house for candy. This can be awkward) and see people in cool costumes. Then to the Aran Islands on Saturday, the island of Inis Mor, specifically. These are a group of islands where the locals all speak Irish fluently (and English). We got to go around in some guy's horse-drawn cart. It didn't rain all day (soooo rare), and it was beautiful. And I bought purple wool fingerless gloves which somehow I am not allergic to and which are cool. Then back to Galway and we spent Halloween evening on a bus to Dublin--but the day was totally worth it. Airport early in the morning, and back to Siena only 15 minutes late for dinner.
And now I have to come to terms with the fact that I actually have work now! Alright, that ended up being way longer than I intended--I really need to go to bed and hope my cold magically disappears overnight.
A special thank you to Julia and John for letting me crash with them and feeding me and being generally awesome!